Stephanie Viter, (sjmjgirl #3810) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Farmgirl Gratitude badge.

"I have been reading The Book of Awesome, one entry per day for the last 30 days. I have also been keeping a gratitude journal and writing in it every day for 30 days.

It has made me realize that I need to take more time to appreciate the little things in my life. I find myself being more patient and having a better outlook over all. I plan to keep up the journal for for awhile."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning an intermediate level Lend a Hand to Farm Families badge.

"We helped a local farm family that needed someone to milk their goats and take care of all their other animals while they went away. We learned how to milk goats the month before then we spent 2 whole weeks milking goats, feeding chickens, peacocks, goats, sheep, a horse, 6 cats and one little dog. We also cleaned the day before they came home so they wouldn't have anything to do when they arrived home.

Well, we learned that we don't like goat milk but we do like Nubian goats. It was a lot of work and helped us to decide what we would do different when we get a farm."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an expert level Know Your Food badge.

"Read "In Defense of Food", shared with my group how to find and buy local foods, wool for spinning and so many other things they didn't even know were made local. We now buy as a group- lamb, beef, chicken, pork, honey, and maple syrup. It is all grass fed and organic. Also to help those around me I am getting my degrees as a clinical master herbalist and a Holistic Wellness Professional. Some of my first classes were all about nutrition and a whole foods diet. We have been sharing with friends and family how to make sour dough, homemade cheese and fermented foods.

I have such a passion for organic local foods that I sign petitions weekly to keep our food freedoms. As a family we just put a bid in on a 20 acre farm so we can raise more of our own organic food for family and friends. The photo is of lacto-fermented pickles."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a beginner level 'Out There' Women badge.

"We made up two backpacks for survival that would last our family 4 days. We are working on 1 more so we then would have a total of a weeks worth of survival gear for the 4 of us. We also learned all the parts to eat on different plants that grow in our area. We also learned first hand about nettles and how to stop the sting.

It was lots of fun but now my husband is working on perfecting his own bag. I think he wants to take it camping to try things out!"

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning a beginner level Green Energy badge.

"After our electric company deregulated this year my husband and I started to pay attention to our electric more. Looking at rates and what we use in the house that sucks up the most electric and how we can change that.

We also started into a new business marketing for a company that sells electric and has a greener option(wind). We have lowered our bill, made some money on the side and will keep reducing our use and buy appliances that are lower use as we replace them."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Know Your Roots badge.

"We sat down with my grandfather and added information to both his albums we made him and our heritage album we made of family. We love to hear the stories of when he lived on the family farm and when he was on a merchant marine ship during the war. He is such a treasure to us.

We realized that we should interview more folks in our family before their stories are lost."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Civic Heritage badge.

"Well, I took the family to Gettysburg one year and last year we decided to go below the Mason Dixon line to see how things were different. We camped near Harper's Ferry. Boy did we learn a lot about the Civil War from a different perspective. We even learned that there is more than one Washington Monument. The photo is of us standing in front of one of them.

We had a great time and want to visit more places in our area to learn more about our local history. This even inspired us to dig up some history on the old farmhouse we put a bid on last month."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a beginner level Unprocessed Kitchen badge.

"This past year we started making many things homemade. Some of what we make are granola, cookie bars, ketchup, BBQ sauce and kale chips.

So far we love everything we made. We have to work on some of the condiment recipes but we are getting closer. We hope this year to not buy any condiments and no more crackers. All the rest we now make at home."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an intermediate level Unprocessed Kitchen badge.

"This past fall we decided it would be good to make up soup mixes for quicker meals. We didn't buy many canned soups but we were eating out a bit too much when time was short. So we made dried soup mixes up to put in our pantry so we could have meals in less then an hour. We did not add bouillon though because most have MSG or other stuff so we made homemade broth that we kept in the freezer in quart containers to use with the dry ingredients. We also made up a few cookie mixes too.

Most of them were good but I found that dried potatoes have a preservative on them and I got headaches so we did not use that one again."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning a beginner level Recipes badge.

"At Thanksgiving time we all swapped our family recipes. Every year we all bring the same dish to Thanksgiving but never passed on the recipes. I made copies of all of them, laminated them and put them on a ring with a front tag that says Hardy Family Thanksgiving Recipes. We also have been sharing the recipes my grandmother had written down for each of us through the years. I have her apple pie recipe!

I think we will do a lot more of this this year. We didn't realize we had so many recipes from my grandmother and great grandmother between all us cousins."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a beginner level Make It Pretty badge.

"I am an artist so I waited until I had something a bit more challenging to apply for this badge. I first started by drawing a collage of critters and plants around our yard and made it look like a hole in the wall in which you are viewing them.

It came out well and then plans were made to use it for a collage for our bathroom wall."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning an intermediate level Make It Pretty badge.

"A few years ago I was picked to paint one of the cat sculptures for our library. After that I had done some drawings of critters and plants in my yard for a collage ideas for our bathroom. Last month I finally finished the paintings. I have attached a photo of one of the collage done in acrylic.

It turned out nice but now we put our house on the market. So even though I love the collage I hope to be moving soon."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning an expert level Make It Pretty badge.

"I have been painting with oils since I was 12 but I was never into painting abstract. So I really went out of my comfort zone to paint a few abstract paintings for my cousin's children. I have attached a photo of the first set and then I did another one in December. I think I may do one more for her. I had to do a bit of research before I started. You would think it would be easy.. like throwing paint on a canvas but I kept wanting to make something recognizable in the painting. The cat I had painted for the library sits on one of the front shelves at our local library. It is painted with birds we see in our area. I also taught a class this past summer in oil painting to 7 young ladies in our area.

The paintings turned out nice but I don't know if I like abstract painting but it was something new."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a beginner level Woman-at-Arms badge.

"I took a gun safety course at our local Cabella's. I shot a .22 at the farm and am now looking at buying my first gun. My husband bought his first gun last year and we have been teaching our children gun safety.

It was a good course and I learned a lot about what kind of gun I would want to buy as a woman."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Outpost for earning a beginner level Rocks and Minerals badge.

"This one was easy because I homeschool the children and it was time to study geology. We learned this together and made a notebook of what we learned. We started a great rock collection. They liked the experiments we did using household items.

Now we have to go to some local places that are considered geological wonders."

Stacy Keely, (Stacy K. #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Stitching & Crafting for earning a beginner level Spinning badge.

"We started out by going to sheep shearing day at our friends shetland sheep farm. We came home with 2 bags of wool and sent them off to get cleaned. I tried cleaning some at home but my sink was not large enough to do quantities. After we got the wool back we learned to card it and spin with a drop spindle.

I am having a hard time getting the hang of the drop spindle but my daughter loves it enough she is saving up for a spinning wheel."

Loyce Krogel, (traildancer #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Make It Easy for earning a beginner level Music badge.

"According to my mother, I taught myself to play the piano when I was five years old. She guided me by answering questions and providing me with music and suggestions, but not actually teaching me.

So I would have learned about rhythm, melody and harmony long, long ago.

Today, at almost 50 years old, I play keyboard for the worship team at our church and I play special music on Christmas and Easter. Just this week I was asked by another congregation to play keyboard for a mini-conference for local women.

At some point when I was younger, I remember teaching myself to sing harmony by reading the notes in the hymnal and moving up or down from the known melody note to the next note. It doesn't explain well, but now I hear harmony and don't have to consciously think about hitting the right note.

I listen to and enjoy many genres of music. I enjoy classical, opera, country and bluegrass. I find myself listening closely to pieces trying to differentiate between instruments.

Loyce Krogel, (traildancer #896) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Greatest Generation badge.

"In January my father turned 80. As a present to him and to myself (I turn 50 in April) I flew to Alaska to visit for a week.

My mother had compiled two dvds with photos chronicling Dad's life, beginning with a photograph of his mother holding him as a baby. It took two hours to look at all the photos! Dad remembered most of the occasions and would add specifics. It was fun to see my dad's life unfold and to simultaneously hear his comments.

My brothers were both able to come home and we watched the dvd with them also.

During the week Dad related several childhood stories. I wrote them down so that I can remember them and pass them on to my children.

It was enjoyable to be around my folks with no agenda other than to be around."

Dawn Perry, (windswept #2493) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level What's Your Beef? badge.

"I read EATWILD, the articles were interesting, although I've heard or read a lot of them before. We already raise our own beef and chickens as organically as we can. Growing much of their feed. I printed several of the articles out to share with my co-workers.

Debbie Main, (debbies journey #798) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Farmgirl Gratitude badge.

"Victoria put an entry on Across the Fence for a group to work on their gratitude badge together. Victoria put a reading a day from The Book Of Awesome and we all posted what passage we read and wrote what we were thankful for each day, for a month.

We all learned about each other which was an unexpected pleasure. It turned out well, I focused on the little things that make life good!"

Joan Nordquist, (Simple Living #3842) has received a certificate of achievement in Each Other for earning a beginner level Greatest Generation badge.

"My DM lives in a Senior Residential Housing. She loves it there. I visit her everyday and spend time with her and her roomies. We play bingo (lol) and cards. Then we stay for Mass (which is everyday). My mom opens a little confectionary store in the main lobby where she sells candy, newspaper, tissues etc. So I spend time there with her also giving change out. I wouldn't trade the time I spend with her for nothing...Family is the greatest gift that we can have.

Whenever my mom and her roomies (that's what they call each other) see me coming into the main lobby they all get ready for games. She takes out the bingo cards or playing cards. Or we just sit around the tables and chat. They all look forward to family member's visits. I have been doing this since 2002 to present."

Justine Thompson, (JThomp #2904) has received a certificate of achievement in Cleaning Up for earning an intermediate level Going Green badge.

"I have been making my own laundry detergent since last summer. I replaced all of my commercial cleaners with homemade versions. I made my own liquid hand soap and my own bar soap. I shared my recipes as well.

I love my homemade laundry detergent! My laundry smells fresh and is so clean with no overpowering perfume smells. I donít miss the commercial brands at all. Baking soda and vinegar have been a standard ingredient for most of my cleaners, including my all-purpose cleaner, vinegar for the window cleaner, and a mix of hot water, vinegar, and essential oil for my floors. Everything is clean and smells so much better. Iím really thrilled about making soap for the first time! I just used melt and pour to start with, I havenít ventured any farther into it than that yet. My head is spinning with ideas for scents and colors. I think I am hooked! I have no doubt in time I'll graduate to the next step in making soap.I share all my recipes with anyone and everyone who wants to listen. Iíve shared with my grandmother, step-mother, mother-in-law, friends, a little of everyone."

Christine Johnson, (Misskitty #3760) has received a certificate of achievement in Garden Gate for earning a beginner level Gaining Ground badge.

"My husband and I actually purchased a tumbler bin last summer to use for composting. We have been adding kitchen scraps, yard clippings, and every other bit of organic waste we can to our bin since last June. I cannot wait to use some of our "black gold" come Spring! I also read Amy Stewart's book, "The Earth Moved". I was surprised, touched, and humoured by the way she wrote about her love for worms. She definitely gave me a deeper level of appreciation for worms and the amazing work that they do. I knew they were important little creatures before I started reading, but now that I know they have the power to both nourish my garden and change entire forest ecosystems, I have a whole new respect for them indeed!

I am thoroughly enjoying my compost bin and am looking forward to my first season of reaping the rewards of composting. Amy Stewart's book was an adventure into the (under)world of worms that I will not soon forget!"